Financial frauds in India rose 65% between 2021 and 2022: Finance Ministry

National Payment Corporation of India informed the Parliamentary Committee that, on average 2,000 customers are impacted by cyber frauds in India every month

The number of financial frauds in India, including those reported for ATMs, grew 65 per cent in 2022 as compared to 2021, the Finance Ministry has told the Parliamentary Committee, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine (BL). The amount involved in these frauds has, moreover, nearly doubled.

"In 2021, we saw the total frauds reported for ATMs and other frauds were about 1.08 million and the value was Rs 1,119 crore. That means for every 67,000 transactions, one fraud was committed. For 2022, 1.78 million is the number we have. The amount is Rs 2,113 crore. For every 64,000 transactions, one fraud was committed," the ministry was quoted as saying in the BL report.

 

The ministry also listed four trends in cybercrimes in the country. These are" use of crypto for money laundering and terror financing; use of mule accounts with fake addresses, use of international online betting sites for money laundering and terror financing, and use of lending apps and apps for investment.

Separately, the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) informed the committee that, on average, 2,000 customers are impacted by cyber fraud in India every month.

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DGCA-like body recommended

The Parliamentary Committee, according to BL, has, in return, recommended the establishment of a centralised regulatory authority for cyber security on the lines of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The main aim of the body will be to "shoulder the responsibility of safeguarding the nation's critical IT infrastructure and networks from cyber threats".

The recommendation was made as a part of its "Cyber security and rising incidence of cyber/white collar crimes" tabled by chairman Jayant Sinha.

The committee has also recommended the establishment of a Central Negative Registry.

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It further stated that there should be an automatic compensation system devised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for customers. Moreover, it also said that a Single Point of Contact system should be set up in each district police department to handle cases of cyber fraud.